How to graft a plum tree in spring, summer and autumn and what is grafted onto a plum tree: step-by-step video for beginners

Grafting a plum onto a plum or another similar species is an effective gardening method for the rapid propagation of fruit trees with the necessary characteristics of yield, taste, and ripening period. In this case, you need to understand the essence of the procedure, follow the sequence of actions, use a good tool, and correctly prepare cuttings for grafting. It is better for novice gardeners to do the work step by step, using thematic instructions and videos. This increases the chances of survival of the grafted cuttings and avoids annoying mistakes.

Why graft plum

Standard grafting or grafting of a plum is placing a scion (cutting) of one variety into a prepared cleft of a rootstock (trunk, living stump, pruned branch) of another variety. Next, the joining area is compacted and sealed. This ensures the healthy growth of capricious subspecies, which are placed on a plant resistant to diseases and external factors with a strong and tenacious root system. Often the rootstock is an unpretentious wild plum or an adult tree with strong immunity.

In addition to receiving health-strengthening benefits, there are other significant benefits of plum grafting:

cultivation of self-seeding;
propagation of favorite or rare varieties;
adaptation of fruit ripening dates to the local climate;
saving space on the site due to varietal diversity within one combined crown;
obtaining dwarf-fruiting shoots.

Often, spring grafting is the only option for preserving a tree or variety after critical damage to the trunk by rodents, wind or frost during snowless winters.

Important! Plum can be grafted onto a plum or onto a related crop of the stone fruit family - apricot, ordinary and felt cherry, cherry plum, blackthorn (another name is prickly plum).

What time of year to graft plum

Plum trees can be grafted in any season except the winter months. Current and predicted weather conditions are taken into account to avoid temperature changes, heat, frost, and precipitation. The health of the rootstock has a significant influence on the survival rate of cuttings. It is better to feed a sick tree with organic matter, treat it with medications and leave it alone until it is completely restored.

in spring

The best time for vaccination is spring. Thanks to intense sap flow, trees gain strength and increase the volume of branches. All damage to the cortex and cubmium heals quickly. Spring grafting of plums is recommended for beginners, since it is carried out using simple methods and forgives obvious mistakes. The average survival rate is up to 95%. The timing of plum grafting in spring depends on the region. It is necessary for severe night frosts to recede. Usually this is the first ten days of March - mid-May.

In summer

Grafting a plum tree in the summer for beginning gardeners is associated with a number of technological problems, but it allows the use of a tenacious graft and reduces the risk of unsuccessful wintering due to the absence of vulnerable branch growth, which will appear only next spring. Summer grafting of plums has the least cosmetic defect at the site of fusion. Indispensable in case of death of cuttings grafted in spring. The survival rate is 80-90%. The best time is June-July.

in autumn

Plum trees are grafted in the fall from the first ten days of September until the end of October. During this period, there is a gradual decrease in the intensity of sap flow and the work of cambium cells. The residual mobilization of nutrients is enough for the cutting or bud to grow successfully. The main risks are early cold snaps or frosts, which are detrimental to the fragile rootstock.

Note!

The gardener's lunar calendar recommends grafting plums in spring, summer and autumn on the waxing moon, avoiding full and new moon days.

What mistakes do gardeners often make when grafting plums?

The vaccination procedure is not complicated only at first glance. For vaccinations to be successful, hours of rigorous training will be required. Here are the most common mistakes that novice gardeners make:

The grafting is carried out at a considerable distance from the trunk.
The vaccination site becomes dirty or is not treated with varnish after the procedure.
When the scion is fixed, the cambium layers shift relative to the rootstock.
The slices do not match in shape and size.
The fixation of the scion is too weak, which is why it is loosened by the wind.
Cuttings too short.
Improperly harvested cuttings in autumn or frozen in winter.

The most common mistakes when grafting plums are shown in the video at the link below.

Plum grafting methods

Simple and complex methods of combining scion and rootstock are suitable for grafting fruit and berry trees.

In a split or by a cutting

The most accessible and uncomplicated way to graft a plum tree is in spring, early summer, and autumn. Step by step consists of several simple steps:

cut the rootstock evenly;
split in the middle to a depth of 5-7cm;
insert a scion into the edges of the split (1-2 cuttings, sharpened with a wedge);
seal the wounds with garden pitch, plasticine, wax or PVA glue

To tighten the fit of the educational tissue (cubmium), the cut of the rootstock is compressed by wrapping it with electrical tape, twine, plaster, or tape. A new trend is plumbing FUM tape.

For the bark

Beginners can also graft plums using the “bark” method, which is similar to the “split” technology. The difference lies in the preparation of the rootstock, which remains intact. Instead of splitting the core, vertical half-sections of the bark are made along the edges, into which wedge cuttings are implanted. Then comes sealing and compaction.

Into the side cut

A one-sided variation of the “by the bark” technique for grafting a plum on any branch. The direction of the cut must be opposite to the growth of the crown in order to correctly insert the pointed cutting.

Budding

An alternative name is kidney grafting. Instead of a cutting, a peephole is used - a bud with a woody base, which is inserted into a T-shaped cut in the bark on the rootstock. Budding is suitable for summer and periods of active movement of juices. Grafting with a dormant bud is also practiced at the very beginning of the spring season.

Copulation

Another method of grafting with cuttings. A technological feature is the similar diameters of the scion and rootstock. Has several subspecies. A simple plum copulation has symmetrical cuts on the base and stem. The co-grafted parts are tightly fixed.

Important!

Copulation is the only technology with which successful winter grafting of plums is possible.

Optimal timing

If you missed the spring time for plum grafting, get ready to do it in the fall. A young scion cutting needs time to grow from 14 to 21 days; it must have time to get stronger before the arrival of cold weather. The best autumn time for grafting is the period of warm nights (not lower than 15°C) in September-October, when sap is still flowing. With the arrival of early frosts, the plant stops growing; at this time, grafting is no longer useful. Winter grafting of plums is possible in the south of Russia if the winter is warm, without severe frosts.

Plum grafting process

Rules for selecting and storing scion for plum grafting

Cuttings for grafting should be ordered from experienced gardeners or prepared independently.

What should a quality scion be like?

Select the middle part of annual shoots without damage or signs of disease. Cut branches from the top of the southern or western section of the crown. The age of the tree is from 3 to 7 years. The thickness of the blanks is from 5-8 mm (the thickness of a pencil) with a length of 30-40 cm. To perform the plum grafting procedure, one eye is cut out (budding) or a cutting with 2-3 vegetative buds is left. For copulation, it is necessary to choose a scion similar in diameter to the rootstock.

When to harvest scion cuttings

The standard time for harvesting scions is late autumn, after the movement of sap has completely stopped. Also, cuttings are cut at the end of February or at the very beginning of March, until the buds revive and swell.

How to store plum scions

The standard place for holding scion material is a basement, cellar, refrigerator with a temperature range from 0°C to +4°C. An alternative solution is a hole 35-40 cm, the bottom of which is lined with coniferous branches.

A bunch of cuttings is wrapped in fiberglass cloth to protect it from rodents, placed in a recess, covered with spruce branches, soil and sawdust. Once the scion is collected in the spring, you can put it in a bag and cover it with a pile of snow, put it in the basement, and put it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. These recommendations are also suitable for cuttings of apple, pear, and cherry trees.

Plum grafting

Many stone fruit crops are compatible with each other due to similar characteristics of nutrition, development, and fruiting. This ensures high chances of success during initial grafting and long-term mutual coexistence with high yields, without diseases or decreased immunity.

Plum on plum

This is the most correct option for grafting cuttings or buds within one species. The scions will fully retain the taste characteristics of the variety, even when placed on a rootstock. If 2-3 varietal materials are used, one tree will have several varieties of fruits, different in size and ripening time.

On a felt cherry

Grafting plum onto cherry is a popular gardening technique for obtaining low-growing and early-ripening fruit trees with good cold resistance. Chances of success are 80-85%. Methods of grafting (according to effectiveness) – copulation, “by the bark”, “into the split”.

For apricot and peach

Many summer residents and gardeners succeed in grafting plum onto apricot, despite intergenus differences. Survival rate is 60-65%. But the resulting result justifies all the work due to juicy and large fruits with a unique aroma, which is especially noticeable when replacing the apricot rootstock with peach.

For cherry plum

Plum can be grafted onto cherry plum without much difficulty, since it is a close subspecies. For the rootstock, choose a tree 2-5 years old without bark damage or disease. The best technique for grafting a plum onto a cherry plum is “by the bark” or with an eye.

Important!

Grafting plums onto other fruit trees can change the original taste of the variety.

How to graft a plum onto an apple tree

Pome and stone fruit crops do not get along well if they have a common root system. Successful grafting of a plum onto an apple tree is technically possible (copulation), but does not have a long-term perspective and is not interesting from a yield point of view. Strong differences in growth rate and nutritional habits quickly lead to inhibition of the scion. For the same reason, it is worth grafting plum onto pear, quince, and hawthorn.

How to graft with an eye (budding)

This type of vaccination is recommended in the summer. During the period of sap circulation through the tree, the bark easily peels off from the wood when cut. First of all, and as early as possible, budding is carried out on stone fruit crops: plum, Hungarian plum, cherry, apricot, since their rootstocks soon lose their juice. Later, seed crops are grafted.

How to prepare rootstock for budding

If the weather has been dry for a long time before budding, then the rootstock tree is watered abundantly to increase the sap content. About two weeks before grafting, they begin to prepare the rootstock: all the side branches are cut out, the trunk is cleaned to a height of approximately 20 cm. Immediately before budding, the soil is removed from the trunk and wiped with a soft cloth.

How to prepare bud eyes for budding

Cuttings with eyes are cut no later than a day before grafting, and preferably immediately before budding. Healthy specimens of cultivated breeds with good properties are carefully selected. When choosing a scion, you should carefully examine the plant and take precautions so that as a result of grafting you do not transfer viral diseases to the rootstock. The branches should be south facing and fairly mature. Such branches crack when bent. The leaves of the scion shoot are immediately removed to avoid evaporation of moisture and drying out of the eye buds. Only petioles 1 cm long are left. The scion prepared in this way is wrapped in a clean, damp cloth and placed in a plastic bag. Before vaccination, the scion material is stored in a cool, dark place: a cellar or refrigerator.

Shield vaccination

Budding with a shield begins by cutting out the eye. In the middle of the scion cutting, the eye buds are most developed. The stalk is held with the left hand, turning the top towards you. Then, stepping back approximately 1.5 cm below the eye bud, apply a sharp knife, preferably a budding knife, to the handle. Moving towards you, cut out a shield of bark with an eye approximately 3.5 cm long, trying to leave as little wood on the shield as possible. It is more difficult to extract an eye from wood with pronounced layering. Sometimes it is better not to cut it, but to pick it out. Remove the peephole, being careful to preserve the cone.

On the rootstock tree, from the north-west side, select an area with a smooth surface of the trunk and cut the bark with the letter T: first with a transverse line of 1 cm, after which a longitudinal incision 3 cm long is made. The bark on the rootstock is carefully spread apart with a knife, a shield is inserted behind it, so that the peephole is 1 cm below the transverse incision. The budding site is pressed firmly, and the part of the shield above the transverse incision is removed with a knife. When carrying out budding, it is important to avoid touching the cut with your fingers. The grafting from bottom to top is tightly wrapped with electrical tape or bast. To ensure that the harness holds well and is securely fastened, the short end of the tape is tucked under the long one and secured with the first turn. After budding, the soil is again raked up to the trunk of the rootstock tree up to the eye for better healing of the graft and protection from pests. To prevent birds from landing, a shoot bent in an arc is attached to the branches with the graft, or two sticks are simply tied above the graft.

Grafting with apical buds

Budding with apical buds is sometimes used on stone fruit trees. The apical buds are usually deciduous. Under the very apical bud, the shoot is cut off in the same way as copulation and inserted into a cut in the bark of the rootstock, made in the shape of the letter T. The budding site is tightly tied.

Budding using the Forkert method

This type of budding is recommended when the juice content of stone fruit crops is insufficient. The technique of the Forkert method is as follows: a tongue incision is made on the bark of the rootstock tree, pressing with a knife from top to bottom. The length and width of the prepared shield with an eye and the cut on the rootstock should be equal. Next, the bark tongue is cut in half, after which the shield is placed behind it. Finally, a tight bandage is applied.

How should a tree be cared for after budding?

After two weeks, the state of the vaccination-budding is checked. If the leaf petiole of the scion easily falls off when touched, we can assume that the graft is successful. At the same time, the shield should remain fresh, with a shiny surface, and the size of the established bud should increase slightly. If the petiole does not fall off, it means that the grafting was unsuccessful, and budding is repeated if the rootstock has sufficient juice content. Re-budding is carried out on the back side of the barrel. Three weeks after budding, the bast is cut away from the eye and removed so that it does not squeeze the bark of the growing tree. Vinyl chloride tape loosens spontaneously and does not cause much harm to the tree. In late autumn, the grafted tree (especially apricot and peach) is hilled to protect the eye from freezing. In spring, rootstocks with established buds must be pruned. During the growing season, new branches that have grown below the graft are also removed. In the fall, the shields are also removed, and the cuts are treated with garden varnish. On rootstocks with dried or frozen eyes, budding is done again. Repeated budding is performed on the trunk on the reverse side of the unrooted bud.

Recommendations for the plum grafting procedure

Species compatibility of crops must be observed. Often the rootstock is thicker than the scion, so you need to place cuttings along the edges to ensure complete alignment of the cambial layers. The wedge-pointed surfaces of the scions must be smooth and even to ensure a high density of contact with the rootstock. Typically, the length of the wedge exceeds the thickness of the handle by 3-4 times. The variety is grafted carefully but quickly. This avoids oxidation of the parts of the wood being joined. Do not touch the sections with your hands to avoid infection. Excess risks are removed with gloves and a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate. The optimal time for vaccination in spring and summer is a cloudy morning.

Grafting tools

It doesn’t matter whether you decide to graft a plum onto a cherry tree or onto another tree, you will need a special set of tools:

a small sharp knife without burrs on the edge;
garden pitch (wax, PVA glue, plasticine);
strapping (electrical tape, twine, masking tape);
covering and sealing material (film, plastic bag).

Proper preparation of cuttings for grafting is impossible without a good cutting tool. Ideally, this is a budding knife with a smooth spine without a bevel or a grafting pruner. It is also recommended to use photodegradable garden film, which slowly dissolves under the influence of UV radiation and does not require subsequent removal from the grafting site.

Is it possible to graft a freshly cut cutting in the spring?

The successful practice of spring grafting with freshly cut scions is possible until the buds break. Otherwise, the normal development of eyes on an unestablished cutting without normal stem nutrition leads to the consumption of internal reserves and rapid death.

When can you immediately take cuttings for plum grafting?

The cut-and-graft approach has been successful in late spring or summer. For this purpose, exclusively the budding technique (kidney grafting) is used.

Why the best cuttings are harvested in the fall

The scion collected in the fall not only undergoes winter hardening, but is also guaranteed to be in a dormant state. Accelerated development of eyes on a weak cutting is simply impossible. By the time the buds emerge, the grafting site of the plum will have grown together sufficiently to provide the necessary nutrition to the sprout and the buds on it.

Grafting and wrapping

After the cuts are made on the cuttings and the main tree, the grafting itself occurs. The cuttings are applied to the trunk in such a way that the lower bud of the cutting should be in contact with the trunk, and from the outside.

Tying the grafting site is necessary to prevent the sections from drying out. And of course, for fixing the cuttings themselves.

The winding is carried out using adhesive tape. The cutting is wrapped from bottom to top, with the sticky layer facing out.

After wrapping, the grafts are treated with garden pitch or other viscous material. You need to try not to bring the treatment material into the wound itself. You need to make sure that there is no lack of bark. Otherwise, an infection may get into the wound, and all the work will be in vain.

To keep the cuttings moist, it is better to wrap the grafting site with additional polyethylene.

Caring for plums after grafting

As a standard, plum trees are planted on the north side to protect them from direct sunlight. If this is not possible, care must be taken to shade the graft. The success of the procedure is clearly evident after 20-30 days by the open buds and the appearance of leaves. All this time, you need to check the tightness of the connection, which quickly wears out under the influence of temperature changes, precipitation, and wind loads. After the leaves form, the binding is removed to allow free access of oxygen. All young shoots below the place where the plum is grafted onto a plum, apricot or cherry are regularly cut off so that nutrients are supplied exclusively to the desired cutting.

What can you graft onto a plum tree?

Plum can also be used as a rootstock. You can graft onto it the same stone fruit trees, which include the plum itself.

Grafting an apricot onto a plum

Apricots are grafted onto plums quite often. Since plums are more resistant to cold and weather disasters, such grafting will significantly increase the endurance of the apricot and its frost resistance. At the same time, it will enter fruiting 1-2 years earlier, and the yield will not decrease. Unfortunately, not all graftings are successful and the survival rate is much lower than the intraspecific rate for both of these trees.

Grafting a peach onto a plum

The unpretentiousness of the plum will help in this case too. Peach cuttings grafted onto a plum tree are highly likely to take root. Peach on plum rootstock becomes resistant to both unfavorable climate and many diseases, is less often affected by pests, and its fruits become larger and tastier.

Grafting an apple tree onto a plum tree

Cuttings of pome fruit crops, which include the apple tree, do not take root on stone fruit trees. With a 99% probability, such a vaccination is doomed to failure. If this does happen, the result will be unpredictable. It is absolutely known that some gardeners managed to graft an apple tree onto a plum tree, but there is no data on the results of such experiments.

Grafting cherry plum onto plum

Cherry plum takes root well on plum rootstock. If for some reason a plum grows poorly, a cherry plum is often grafted onto it. It is much more stable, more unpretentious and bears fruit more abundantly.

On a plum rootstock, cherry plum will begin to bear fruit 1-2 years earlier than when planted with a seed.

Grafting cherries onto plums

Cherries are grafted onto plums without any problems; if all terms and rules are followed, the survival rate will be very high. This grafting significantly improves the quality of the fruit, its size increases significantly, and the taste becomes much richer and more interesting.

Grafting sloe onto plum

This grafting will definitely take root, since sloe and cherry plum are the parents of plums. However, there is no reason to graft a tenacious frost-resistant sloe onto a plum that is more delicate in all respects. This will not add winter hardiness, nor will it increase productivity. Therefore, they usually do reverse grafting, grafting plum cuttings onto a more resistant thorn rootstock.

Grafting a pear onto a plum

The pear belongs to the same family as the apple tree - pomaceae. Therefore, with regard to such a vaccination, everything that has already been said about the apple tree above will be true.

Grafting cherries onto plums

Such grafting is possible and with a certain degree of probability it will be successful, although it is quite difficult to achieve the fusion of the cuttings with the rootstock due to the different wood. An established cherry on a plum rootstock will feel good, and if you graft it into the crown, you can get two types of fruits on the tree at once. Such a hybrid will bear fruit earlier than a regular cherry. The tree itself will grow larger and more spreading, and when flowering it will resemble sakura.

What can be grafted onto a wild plum?

Wildflowers are usually what grows from the root shoots of ungrafted trees or from a seed. They are characterized by increased resistance to weather changes, tolerate frost well, and are undemanding to the composition of the soil. They are often used as a rootstock, and quite successfully. You can graft on wild animals:

Plum.
Cherry.
Apricot.
Peach.

Any of these grafting will increase the tree's resistance to weather conditions and make it more unpretentious.